Galway Film Fleadh is Ireland’s leading film event, a six-day international film festival taking place every July on the edge of Europe in the West Coast of Ireland. ‘Fleadh’ is the Irish word for a feast or a celebration, and like Galway itself, our festival is compact, bohemian, informal and fun. Galway Film Fleadh brings luminaries of the craft and everyday cinephiles together to share in the wonder of cinema.

Founded in 1989, as an opportunity for Irish filmmakers to exhibit their work to their peers, the central goal of the Galway Film Fleadh remains unchanged: to be a platform for the boldest new films, and to bring audiences and filmmakers from around the world together to share in the wonder of cinema. Annually, screening between 80 – 100 feature films and up to 100 short films, the Fleadh welcomes an exciting diversity of filmmaking from around the world, all generations and cultural backgrounds.

Galway Film Fair

Marketplace:
Running alongside the festival for the past 26 years, the Galway Film Fair is Ireland’s only film & television marketplace. Galway Film Fair co-ordinates pre-scheduled meetings between filmmakers with projects in development and/or completed films and invited Film Financiers, Distributors, Sales Agents, Broadcasters, Film Funds and Major Producers.

The Galway Film Fair’s unique selling points:
-> Transatlantic bridge
-> Access to the world’s leading financiers in an informal environment
-> Showcasing new Irish, European and International cinema to leading Film Buyers, Distributors and Festival Programmers

Forum:
The Fleadh Forum is an annual symposium for filmmakers and industry professionals to explore and share ideas about what is happening in the audio-visual industry. Joined by a host of Industry Experts, discussion topics include the process of development, the future of co-production, as well as film sales, distribution and exploitation.

Masterclasses:
Each year the Fleadh invites masters of filmmaking craft to be the subject of our series of masterclasses for industry professionals. Previous subjects have included:

Acting:
Matthew Modine, Vicky Krieps, Andrew Scott, Marisa Tomei, Michael Smiley, Ruth Negga, John C. Reilly, Will Forte, Martin Sheen, Isabelle Huppert, Amanda Plummer, Annette Benning, Michael Fassbender, Jessica Lange, Jeremy Irons, Kathy Bates, Colm Meaney, Woody Harrelson, Zachary Quinto, Saoirse Ronan, Brendan Gleeson, Anjelica Huston, Peter O’Toole, Maureen O’Hara, Pierce Brosnan...

Directing:
Richard Kelly, Najwa Najjar, Abbas Kiarostami, Mira Nair, Alex Gibney, Mohsen Makmalbaf, Stephen Daldry, Jon Jost, Volker Schloendorff, Stephen Frears, Anthony Minghella, Agnieszka Holland, Gillo Ponecorvo, Arthur Penn, István Szabó, Michael Winterbottom, Michael Moore, Oliver Reed, Madeline Olnek, Jim Sheridan, Neil Jordan

Screenwriting:
Carol Morley, Lisa McGee, Ed Solomon, Kirsten Smith, Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski, Paul Schrader, Robert Towne, Sir Ronald Harwood, Christopher Hampton, Mark Fergus, Allison Anders, Daniel Waters, Nicole Holofcener...

Animation:
Lee Unkrich, Pete Docter, Jimmy Murakami, Cartoon Saloon, Brown Bag Films...

Wild Atlantic Pitching Competition:
Having provided many writers with an opportunity to get their foot in the door of the industry, participants have found that our Pitching Competition opened the door to producers, key contacts and mentorship in addition to bolstering their confidence and having projects optioned. Ten finalists are chosen from written submissions and pitch their idea to a panel of industry judges and a live audience. The winner receives a cash prize of €3000, which can allow time to develop and expand their pitch into a full feature script.

And much more...

Networking breakfasts, our (in) famous Rowing Club, pop-up panels, debates, BBQ’s...come and see why we’ve been named one of Moviemaker Magazines ‘50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee’ and one of the ‘20 Essential International Film Festivals.’

Awards & Prizes

Short Film Awards
- Best International Documentary Short
- Best International Fiction Short
- Best International Animation Short
- James Flynn Award for Best First Short Drama
- Best First Short Animation
- Donal Gilligan Award for Best Cinematography in an Irish Short Film

Oscar Qualifying Awards
- Tiernan McBride Award for Best Short Drama in association with Network Ireland Television
- James Horgan Award for Best Animation Short
- Best Short Documentary Award in association with TG4

Individual Artist Awards
- Wild Atlantic Pitching Award
- Bingham Ray New Talent Award in association with Magnolia Pictures
- Best Marketplace project in association with Bankside Films

Feature Film Awards
- Peripheral Visions Award (for a first for second International feature)
- Best Irish First Feature
- Best Irish Film
-Best Irish Documentary
-Best Independent Film
-Best International Film
-Best International Documentary
-World Cinema Competition
-Best Cinematography in an Irish Film
-Generation Jury Award

Rules & Terms

Feature Film Submissions

1. A feature film is considered to be 52 or more minutes in length.

2. Submission fees and deadlines:
Early bird deadline: Monday December 11th, 2023 at 11:59p.m. G.M.T. €30 entry fee.
Regular deadline: Monday February 12th, 2024 at 11:59p.m. G.M.T. €40 entry fee.
Late deadline for International Features: Monday March 11th, 2024 at 11:59p.m. G.M.T. €50 entry fee.
Late deadline for Irish Features: Friday April 5th, 2024 at 11:59p.m. G.M.T. €50 entry fee.

3. The festival is not obliged to view late entries. After the final deadline date, digital submission forms will be unavailable online.

4. The festival does NOT pay screening fees for titles that have been submitted. Refunds will not be issued for submitted films.

5. All categories and genres of film are accepted.

6. All languages of film are accepted. Submissions and screeners of non-English language films must contain English subtitles.

7. Please note, we recommend that you observe a standard broadcast safe area for any titling or subtitles, otherwise your subtitles may be cropped during projection in some venues.

8. In all categories, any film that has been previously broadcast (television or online video-on-demand, including YouTube) in Ireland or screened at another festival shall have less priority in programming terms than those that will premiere at the festival. The festival gives priority to World, European and Irish premieres in considering competition categories.

9. All competition categories are judged by the audience and/or a jury of industry professionals.

10. Please upload content to FilmFreeway where possible or provide a valid Vimeo link. *Please ensure, if providing a link, that it does not expire until the middle of June 2024. We do not accept Google Drive or Dropbox links as submission links.

11. We accept picture-locked rough cuts of films. Please note this in your submission and notify us when a new version is available to watch.

12. Please note that selections are made on a rolling basis – therefore, you may be notified before the notification date listed on FilmFreeway.

13. Please note, we do not provide waivers or discount codes. Thank you for your understanding.

14. If selected, you will be informed of the latest date at which content must be delivered to the festival.

15. If selected, you will be required to fill out a technical form detailing formatting specification such as aspect ratio and audio format etc. This is to ensure that we can provide your film with its the best possible screening.

16. If selected, we require a DCP as your primary exhibition format, along with a Pro Res file as a backup. More details will be provided to you.

17. If selected, the entrant agrees that up to one minute of their film (visual or audio) may be used by the festival in promotional activities. These can include screening a clip-on television, radio, the festival’s website, promo reel and/or social media presences.

18. The festival reserves the final say on the awards categorisation of successful entrants.

19. In submitting to Galway Film Fleadh, the Festival may occasionally contact you about relevant industry events and updates

20. Due to the volume of submissions, the festival is not able to provide feedback.

21. Any feature film that has been previously broadcast (television, online free/open festivals, streaming sites or video-on-demand) shall be deemed ineligible for competition and receive less priority in programming terms, with the exception of pay-walled secure online festival.

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Short Film Submissions

1. A short film is considered to be less than 40 minutes in length. Entries that exceed 40 minutes will not be accepted.

2. Submission fees and deadlines:

Earlybird deadline: Friday January 26th, 2024, at 11:59pm. G.M.T. €25 entry fee.
Regular deadline: Friday March 1st, 2024, at 11:59pm. G.M.T. €30 entry fee.
Late deadline International Short Films: Friday April 12th, 2024, at 11:59pm. G.M.T. €35 entry fee.
Late deadline Irish Short Films: Friday May 3rd, 2024, at 11:59pm. G.M.T. €35 entry fee.

*The entry fee of €25 for IRISH Student Animation under 6 min will extend across all deadlines.

3. Please note, we do not provide waivers or discount codes. Thank you for your understanding.

4. The festival is not obliged to view late entries. After the final deadline date, digital submission forms will be unavailable online.

5. Galway Film Fleadh short film programme consists of two primary sections: Irish production/co-production and International Production. An Irish production/co-production is defined as a production that features an Irish resident/born director, producer, lead animator or writer OR a production shot on the island of Ireland.

6. You may select one category only for each film submitted. For experimental works or works that fall in between the categories below, please select one and describe your film type in the notes section on the submission form e.g., docudrama, experimental, etc. The categories are:
Fiction
Animation
Documentary

7. You must indicate if your film is a debut short, i.e., the director’s first short film. If your film is a debut dramatic/animated short, it will automatically be eligible for a Best Debut Drama/Animation. This does not preclude it from winning the Tiernan McBride or James Horgan Oscar qualifying awards.

8. The festival has both competitive and non-competitive programmes. Competition eligibility is subject to these rules and regulations and at the discretion of the festival. All competition categories are judged by a jury of industry professionals.

9. Any short that has been previously broadcast (television, online free/open festivals, streaming sites or video-on-demand) shall be deemed ineligible for competition and receive less priority in programming terms, with the exception of pay-walled secure online festival.

10. All languages of film are accepted. Submissions and screeners of non-English language films must contain English subtitles.

11. We recommend that you observe a standard broadcast safe area for any titling or subtitles, otherwise your subtitles may be cropped during projection in some venues.

12. We accept picture-locked rough cuts of films. Please note this in your submission and notify us when a new version is available to watch.

13. The festival does NOT pay screening fees for titles that have been submitted. Refunds will not be issued for submitted films.

14. In submitting to the festival, the applicant confirms that they possess all rights necessary for the screening of the submitted film at the festival.

15. Please note that selections are made on a rolling basis – therefore, you may be notified before the notification date listed on FilmFreeway.

16. Please upload content to FilmFreeway where possible or provide a valid Vimeo link. *Please ensure, if providing a link, that it does not expire until the middle of June 2024. We do not accept Google Drive or Dropbox links as submission links.

17. If selected, we will require a high-resolution digital copy of the film for exhibition. The format should be Pro Res (ideally ProRes 422 or ProRes 422LT preferred) or if not, then H264 is fine. The file will later be converted to DCP to play on the day as part of a playlist. We only accept DCPs if done professionally through a production house. The exhibition files/DCPs must be either 24 or 25 frames per second.

18. If selected, you will be informed of the latest date at which content must be delivered to the festival. All content must be uploaded to our cloud server which you will get more details about if successful.

19. The Oscars Academy will make no exception to the following rule:

To be eligible for Oscar consideration upon winning a qualifying category: Your film must be available in the “SMPTE DCP” format. SMPTE DCP refers to SMPTE ST 429-2 and related specifications, should you wish to enter it.
Trailers/previews of no longer than 10% of a short film’s length are permitted online.

20. If selected, the entrant agrees that up to one minute of their film (visual or audio) may be used by the festival in promotional activities. These can include screening a clip-on television, radio, the festival’s website, promo reel and/or social media presences.

21. The festival reserves the final say on the awards categorisation of successful entrants.

22. In submitting to Galway Film Fleadh, the Festival may occasionally contact you about relevant industry events and updates.

23. Due to the volume of submissions, the festival is not able to provide feedback.

24. The Galway Film Fleadh reserves the right to change the Terms and Conditions at any time.

Last updated 1st September 2023
12 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Darragh Foy

    Delighted to have been part of this years Festival. Great quality films on display in a beautiful theatre to exhibit in. Highly recommended!

    August 2023
    Helpful
  • Harvey Ascott

    Fantastic Festival, full of great people, great films and fantastic communication from the festival team.
    After screening our film Jericho Ridge at the festival, seeing it for the first time on the big screen was awesome!!

    August 2023
    Helpful
  • orla connolly

    Such a fantasic festival on all levels. It was a real honour to screen our film in Galway. The Q&A afterwards was great – thanks for everything!

    July 2023
    Helpful
  • Nuala Cunningham

    The Galway Film Fleadh is a great festival and absolutely worth the submission. The team are great to deal with: always equally friendly and professional. There's a good industry buzz and the atmosphere overall is upbeat and fun.

    July 2023
    Helpful
  • Louise Nesbitt

    Super fun festival, really lovely time!

    June 2023
    Helpful